A fatal love triangle
by Amaranthe Athenais
Summary: It is set in S2E10. Unexpectedly, Marian marries Guy of Gisborne on the day of Sheriff's disappearance when Prince John's army intends to destroy Nottingham. The love triangle of Marian, Robin, and Guy emerges. Marian and Robin's paths diverge. Will Marian continue loving Robin, or will she fall for Guy? THE STORY WAS RE-WORKED AND HEAVILY EDITED. I ADVISE TO RE-READ IT


_This is my first story about Robin Hood. Any reviews are welcome, both the good and the bad. Constructive criticism is always welcome._

_In this alternative universe, Marian doesn't die as it happened to her in the final episode of Season 2. I have always thought that killing Marian was BBC's gravest mistake. They could have just changed an actress if Lucy wished to leave the show. After Marian had died, it was clear for me that Robin and Guy, who both loved her, were doomed to die in the end of Season 3. Indeed, I had been right in my initial conclusions about their fates long before Season 3 was released._

_This story is about the love triangle of Marian, Robin Hood, and Guy of Gisborne. I am deliberately not telling you which pairing I love the most – Marian/Robin or Marian/Guy. Maybe you will be able to guess as you read this story. It is even possible that Marian will remain without Robin or Guy in the end._

_The background of the story won't be absolutely historically accurate. Yet, there will be many events from the real history, like the end of the Third Crusade and King Richard's captivity. Some historical events will be manipulated for the sake of making this story more interesting._

_Undoubtedly, I don't own any characters and the show. In addition, some heroes are to be introduced into the story by myself._

_Hope you will enjoy the story._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**A fatal mistake or providence?**

Marian sat on the edge of the large oak bed covered with the magenta rose tapestry and canopy above. She looked into the emptiness of the room, not wishing to believe in what she had done today, after Prince John's army had almost razed Nottingham to the ground in the aftermath of Sheriff Vasey's disappearance in Sherwood as he tried to get the Pact of Nottingham back. She accepted Sir Guy of Gisborne's proposal to marry after he had pleaded her on his knees. She felt pity for him at that moment, thinking that there was definitely something good in Guy's heart and that he could change, becoming a good man. As Guy proposed to Marian again, she didn't answer but allowed him to take her hand and lead her into the small chapel of the castle. She said no word and just followed Guy. She didn't know how it happened and why she did that exactly at that moment. She even didn't remember how the priest proclaimed them a husband and a wife.

As she faced the outcome of the fateful day, Marian thought that complete madness had overcome her. She didn't love Guy, but she was definitely attracted to him. Nevertheless, she said nothing against his proposal when they were on the very verge of death. She tried to find an answer in her heart why she had done that, but she couldn't. She felt only numbness and strange calmness when Guy and she exchanged marriage vows in the small chapel. Later, as she had realized what she had done, her heart swelled with bloodcurdling, unbearable pain – she had hurt Robin and herself. She threw herself into a sophisticated labyrinth of pain and unhappiness, and she didn't know why she did that. Yet, deep down she had a sensation that she had done a right thing for herself and for Guy, if not for Robin. She was very puzzled.

Marian didn't understand her behavior and her true motives behind her decision to marry Guy. It was irrational. Her attitude to her own actions was ambiguous. At one side, she regretted what she had done because she had ruined her own long-awaited happiness with Robin. At another side, she didn't regret her decision because she was attracted to Guy and thought that Guy could have been a better, more committed husband in some aspects than Robin. Robin and she were separated by insurmountable obstacles and their future was uncertain. Her relations with Robin had been tested since his return to England, and there were times when she wasn't sure that they should have been together, in spite of her feelings for him. Before Robin's return from the war, Guy had been around Marian for several years, and she began considering him a potential match for herself. Then Robin came back and swept over her in their old sweet romance; her old affection for Robin resuscitated and blossomed, but her developing attraction to Guy didn't vanish with Robin's return. As a result, Marian was torn between Robin and Guy and her feelings for them, although she had never told Robin about that.

Robin's name sounded like a bird's song in Marian's ears. Robin… Robin… Robin… Like a little bird, he left her to fight in the war, was absent for a long-long time, and then flied back to her, in the end having turned her life topsy-turvy. She thought that she had loved Robin with all her heart, and she knew that he also loved her. She was happy when he finally proclaimed his love for her, even if he did that in his extremely strange fashion, and she rejoiced in their candidness. He gave her an emerald engagement ring and proposed to her in the same strange fashion – above a fresh grave of King Richard's one-legged messenger who arrived at the Locksley Manor only to find out that Robin was outlawed and to be pursued by Allan and Gisborne's men, who mortally wounded him. They agreed that they would find Lardner – a Sultan's prized bird, warn King Richard, defeat the Sheriff, and then get married; they managed to contact King Richard, notifying him about his brother's intentions to steal his throne, but it was all they would be able to ever do together. Marian's marriage to Guy made their life paths diverge.

Her heart hammered harder and harder as her mind reproduced the events of the most important day in her life more than a week ago. Marian met with Robin in the woods to inform him about the latest events at the castle. Robin flirted with her in his usual, impudent manner, grinning at her and teasing her. He stole several kisses from her, and she passionately responded to him. As he kissed and caressed her, she lost herself in his strong arms and gave in to physical temptation. She loved him and wanted him; she couldn't wait longer than she had already waited for him to return to her – for five years, when he had fought in the Third Crusade with King Richard, and for more than a year since his return. Robin asked her whether she was sure, but she only smiled and kissed him in his lips. Then he slightly pushed her back, down onto the green grass, and continued kissing her, his lips traveling down her throat. As they undressed each other, he crushed his lips on hers, his arms wrapping around her back. Feeling deep and powerful ache that coursed through their bodies, they plunged into dark pleasurable oblivion, delighting in the proximity to one another.

Because of her love for Robin and their recent engagement, she allowed him to take her maidenhead in the depths of the forest, breaching all the rules of proper conduct for noblewomen, which she had been taught since her early childhood. They spent two hours together, involved in at first in gentle and tender, then in passionate and wild lovemaking, forgetting about their dangerous adventures. As they realized that they were running out of time and she had to leave so as to keep her absence at the castle undetected, they unwillingly parted from a warm embrace. Then Robin accompanied her to Nottingham's gates.

Robin was overmastered with happiness after their first time in the forest. However, she was furious at herself as she let herself do what she had been dreaming to do for a long time – to feel what it was like to be with Robin of Locksley. Her disappointment with herself was the result of the uncertainty around them. While they loved each other, which was genuine and deep love as Marian believed, they couldn't marry until King Richard came back to England. Robin was an outlaw; she was a respectable noblewoman, even if she feigned her respectability, helping the poor night as the Nightwatchman. She was frightened of their future, fearing that Robin would be captured and executed, or that they both would have ended up on the gallows. Yet, despite everything, she had still slept with him, even if it happened only once, because she wanted so much that it was painful for her. She succumbed to a physical temptation because she was a woman and Robin was a charming man who cared for her and loved her. Yet, she didn't know whether she did a right thing when she allowed him to do that.

It was not easy for Marian to admit it, but she also was disappointed with herself because she felt guilty of betraying Guy of Gisborne. When she returned to the castle after her newly discovered experience with Robin, she couldn't look into Guy's eyes. She felt ashamed of herself. Guy looked at her with a warm smile and was attentive to her. She knew that he cared for him and wanted to marry her, whereas she was simply using his love to have information about the Sheriff's plans. Before she had justified herself with the necessity to help Robin who helped the poor and was fighting for England and the King; it seemed to be logical to be at Robin's side. After she had lost her innocence to Robin, everything was different: she overstepped a certain line, while she still fed Guy's affections and supported the illusion of the fairy-tale of their possible marriage in the future, after the period of mourning for her father's death. She felt that the depth of her deception had reached its bottom, and she felt guilty.

In several days after their first intimate encounter, Marian and Robin again met near the same meadow in Sherwood. Like in the previous days, Robin was happy to see her, flashing his usual cheeky grin, laughing, and kissing her between brief exchanges of words. When Robin began unbuttoning her dress from the back, Marian's temper exploded; she still didn't feel comfortable with what they had recently done. As Robin showed that he had wanted to take her, again in the forest and unmarried, she abruptly stopped him. She frowned as she was angry at him. Marian reproached Robin and told him that they shouldn't have slept together, stating that it was a mistake. Robin only laughed at her and continued his unwelcomed advances, which resulted in a hard slap across his smug face and a harsh quarrel.

In their bickering, Marian accused him of being a womanizer and using their proximity to sleep with her, even though it was exaggerated as she knew that Robin had been focused only on charming and getting her back since his return. She snapped that Robin had probably considered her a usual woman, not a proper lady, if he had let himself continuing harassing her despite her protests. The worst was that Marian had mentioned Guy of Gisborne as a remarkable example of a man who had always treated her properly and had never let himself seek for something more than a chaste kiss from Marian. The sound of Gisborne's name threw Robin off his emotional balance, and he rebuked her that she had had no right to compare him, the loyal subject of the King and an honest man, to Guy, the murderer of many innocent people and the traitor of the crown. As he spelled out those words, his facial expression was arrogant and cold.

Robin of Locksley acted in his typical fashion. He even started naming his own heroic deeds he had done for King Richard and for England in the Holy Land, although he himself acknowledged that he had committed horrible crimes there in the name of God and for the glory of the King. Marian knew that Robin had been King Richard's favorite and confident during the Crusade, but she disliked how Robin presented it – by highlighting that he, Robin of Locksley, was the King's close friend, trustworthy and devoted, loyal to him even in death. He positioned himself as the King's man and people's hero. Marian scoffed that Robin turned a blind eye to the lack of the King's interest in England's affairs and in his people, whose interests were inferior to the monarch's desire to fight bloody wars thousands miles away. Marian was loyal to the true King of England, but she didn't idolize him. On the contrary, in her opinion, Robin perceived Richard only as a hero and was proud of his close warm relationship with the King. From time to time, she was irritated with Robin's blind loyalty to the absent monarch. The constant talk about the King, Robin's loyalty to him, and Guy's regicide attempts infuriated Marian: it seemed that Robin had always thought at first about the King and England and only then about Marian, a woman whom he loved but still deserted for five years, choosing the King and glory over their love.

Robin systematically stressed that Gisborne would have never sacrificed his titles and lands to be able to help people, like Robin did. He was proud of his actions. When Robin said that Guy had been obsessed only with power and that his black heart had contained a huge amount of monstrous evil, Marian had enough of Robin's loftiness and bravado. Robin was a good man with a kind, noble heart, but she hated when he put himself on a pedestal, ignoring his own faults and mistakes. Robin was an arrogant person who needed and liked when he was loved and admired by others, but at times his haughtiness and self-assurance in his exclusiveness and heroism were like the last drop that made the cup of Marian's patience run over.

His constant colorful comparisons between his heroic deeds and Gisborne's transgressions drove Marian nearly to the edge of her sanity. Marian was infuriated and accused Robin of many sins in an attempt to have an upper hand in their argument: she incriminated him that he had abandoned her and deserted his people for the sake glory in the Great Pilgrimage to the Holy Land; she blamed him of loving the King more than he had ever loved her; she condemned him for having not-so-unselfish desire to be loved by people for sake of his personal satisfaction and pride; she cursed his arrogance, foolishness, and countless reckless decisions. She mentioned all the times when Robin let her down. She even went far enough to say that it was good that Gisborne didn't have those qualities that drove Robin away from home, to the King's side in pursuit of glory. The result was expectable – volcanic eruption followed. They fumed and wrangled, screamed and shouted, used a lot of unintelligible words and applied unpleasant epithets to one another. In the end, Marian walked away from Robin without saying any farewell words, and he willingly let her leave.

§§§

Throughout the next days, Marian often compared Robin and Guy. Both men loved her, but their love for her was different. She was sure that Robin and Guy loved her wholeheartedly, but she didn't like that Robin's love for the King might have been interpreted as something more superior to his love for her. There was something sublime in his adoration of the King she couldn't comprehend. Guy's love for her seemed to be overwhelming; when she glanced into his steel blue eyes fixed at her, she often saw in them mad passion she had probably never noticed in Robin's light blue eyes. She suspected that if she had given in to Guy's advances, she might have been drowned in the ocean of his passion. Somehow she managed to soften Guy's cold heart when they were together: she was fire and he was ice, and she melted that ice. Robin was always ablaze; he was fire, like Marian herself. Guy loved Marian and loved power, but she tended to believe that he could have loved her more than power. In Robin's case, she didn't know whom he loved more – the King, or her, or both of them equally.

Robin of Locksley was Marian's first love and her former betrothed. Her love for Robin had always been an intrinsic part of her essence and her everyday life, and she couldn't be Marian without that love. That love didn't disappear when Robin was in Palestine. She was always herself with Robin. She knew him very well because they had grown up together and had been close friends in her early childhood. Their arguments and quarrels were natural for them, their eventual reconciliations – unavoidable. There was a tart taste of exasperation and anger in their arguments, but those squabbles were softened by the known ultimate result – they would pardon each other, Robin would give her his devil-may-care cheeky grin, she would smile with a warm, slow smile, and together they would continue fighting for England, King Richard, and for each other. She knew Robin too well, whereas she didn't knew and often didn't understand Guy.

Guy of Gisborne was a dark mystery for Marian. Whether it was good or bad, his enigma attracted her to him. She knew very few things about his past as Guy avoided talking of his childhood and early youth, and she was interested what froze his heart and brought to the light only its wicked parts. In her opinion, Guy had qualities and could have become a better man, but something had shaped all his cruelty and coldness. Marian also liked that her interactions with Guy were not as predictable as those with Robin. There was a touch of dark danger in the air as they talked and looked at one another. Their rare conflicts, official talk, and even sweet informal communication contained prickly words, and she felt as though they both were squeezed between sharp edges of two knives. Every encounter with Guy was like dancing along an edge of a knife, and it supplied Marian with adrenalin to explore mystery and take challenge, which she couldn't have in her relations with Robin in disregard of their dangerous lifestyle they had as fighters for England and the poor. It was also true that Guy's personality intrigued her; his dark handsomeness excited her. Like many other women, she was also definitely flattered with Guy's attention to her modest figure because he was a handsome, powerful man who was considered a good match by many women of Nottingham.

Marian concluded that her latest actions towards Guy might have been explained by a combination of various reasons. Her clandestine encounters with Robin in the woods, at the castle, or somewhere in the town were not enough for her happiness, the King was away and it wasn't clear when he would come back. With Robin, her future was uncertain, and she was afraid that they would never be able to marry. The situation was opposite with Guy: he was always there, near her, even when Robin was away, fighting for his beloved King Richard in the Holy Land. Guy did many questionable things and hurt her by arresting her father and burning down her house, but he also tried to protect her from Sheriff Vasey, risking his favor with the darkest demon of Nottingham. Marian also felt guilty that she had betrayed Guy on multiple occasions when he aimed to protect her. Another important aspect was that she was scared of the possibility that Robin would let her down again and abandon her for the King, while with Guy it was less likely. Robin and the King, as well as Guy and power, came together with each other, but Robin and the King were stronger and could have brought much heartache to her. Her last argument with Robin, especially his bragging and his speculations about loyalty to the King, fueled her apprehensions. Guy's recent noble act, when he was ready to die at her side in Nottingham, gave her additional premise to suppose that she, like hot fire, would be able to transform him and reveal his mystery.

After their scandal in the forest and Marian's departure, Robin sneaked into her bedroom next evening. They talked for several minutes: he asked about the Sheriff's plans and then briefly tried to reconcile with Marian. She felt aggravated that he had been much more interested in the Sheriff's plans than in their personal matters. He even didn't apologize for his pompous speeches during their previous date. They didn't have much time to talk because Marian was expected to attend the dinner with Vasey and Gisborne, and soon she requested Robin to leave in order not to be detected at the castle if Guy had come to escort her downstairs for the evening. Robin again was jealous, and they argued. Then Guy came, and she had to distract him to let Robin have time for escape. After the dinner, Marian discovered Robin in her bedroom again: he wanted to stay for the whole night, which outraged her as her old disappointment with herself in the aftermath of their first intimacy filled her heart. She pushed Robin away and asked him to leave, saying that she didn't want him to be caught in her bedchamber, becoming the death of him. In response, Robin only laughed and commented that such death would be stupid enough. And then Marian's new disappointment followed.

Marian looked at Robin. "If death in my bed is stupid, then what death is not stupid?" she asked.

Robin grinned at her. "The death for the King, for England, and for you, Marian," he responded.

At that moment, Marian was ready to scream. The King was again there.

"Oh," she breathed.

Robin wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple. Then he glanced into her eyes, a smile on his face. "We are fighters, my beloved Marian. Like all fighters, I have always preferred an honorable death to a death in my own bed. _The most honorable death is death for what you believe in and what you love – the death for the King, England, and you_."

Marian said nothing and allowed him to kiss her again. Later Robin left the castle. Yet, the bitter taste of his answer was still there. She adored Robin's loyalty to England and his high honor code; she was loyal to the King herself and fought for him, England, and people. At the same time, she couldn't stop thinking that Robin had again brought the King into their relations. The King, Robin, and she were always together in Robin's world view. And where was she – above or behind the King and the country in that hierarchy?

The next several days were routine. Marian had only one spontaneous encounter with Robin Hood on the market square. Later Vasey disappeared from Nottingham, which resulted in her near-death experience when Guy was at her side. When Guy proposed to her, she saw in his eyes that he wished to be there for her, to spend their last minutes together, only with her. She was moved that Guy was ready to die at her side, to die only for her and with her, while he could have escaped the town without her. _Guy showed her than death for her was more important for him that death for the King and for England_. She assumed that it was what emotionally moved her the most. In contrast to her relationship with Robin, the King of England didn't stand between Marian and Guy, and she reluctantly acknowledged to herself that she liked it very much. Most likely, it was also the reason that she hadn't denied Guy's proposal.

The reality was that Marian had been torn between Robin of Locksley and Guy of Gisborne for a long time, loving Robin and being stirred by Guy. _She was trapped in the fatal love triangle, between two such different men – Robin, an honorable King's nobleman and a people's hero with altruistic ideals, and Guy, the Sheriff's demonic servant and a mysterious tormented soul with a not-so-black heart_. Robin and Guy were like light and darkness at the first sight, but Marian felt that there was something very similar between them, and she hankered to grasp what it was.

Marian was confused, lost in the maze of her own feelings and thoughts. If she loved Robin, then why did she marry Guy? Was it for the better or for the worse? Maybe she doubted the depth of Robin's love for her more than Guy's love. Perhaps, she was fed up with the uncertainty and the danger her relations with Robin brought to her life. Maybe she doubted Robin's level of firm commitment to their relationship as she was frightened to be left alone again. Robin was too hungry for adventures, and his soul would be never saturated with them. For whatever reason, Guy appeared to be more ready to settle down than Robin. She was undoubtedly magnetized by Guy's mysterious nature that challenged her. Of course, she also was moved to the core by the intensity and the sincerity of Guy's bright gaze as he knelt to her and said that he wanted to marry her, even if it were the last thing they could do before their deaths at the hands of Prince John's mercenaries.

Did Marian commit a fatal mistake by marrying Guy and in fact betraying Robin? Or was it providence? Anyway, what was done was done. She was Guy's wife. She was no longer a free woman. She had to accept her lot in her new life, but it seemed to be easier said than done.

§§§

Marian sighed and looked at the clock on the mantle that hung at the wall opposite the bed. It already was late, and Guy was expected to come to her room any minute. But so far she still was alone, and her solitude gave her time to think more about the recent events.

A myriad of thoughts whirled in her mind. She remembered how Robin had learnt about her wedding to Guy. When Robin brought Sheriff Vasey back to Nottingham from Sherwood, Guy smiled maliciously at the outlaw and announced that he and Marian had married right before Robin's arrival. Guy was happy that he had triumphed over Robin as he had taken everything from the former Lord of Locksley, whereas Robin had nothing, defeated and heartbroken. Marian would never forget Robin's face at that moment: his blue eyes widened, his lips thinned, his facial muscles tensed. Then Robin pretended to be indifferent, and his face broke into a usual cheeky grin, cool and teasing. He mocked them that they had chosen a very uncomfortable time for the wedding, hinting at the lack of white attire and general mourning atmosphere in the town. It might have seemed that Robin had looked at the event as though nothing had happened, and it goaded Marian into fury. She was outraged that Robin had again pretended that he had been so insufferable and that nothing could have hurt him. However, she understood that it was a mask.

The memory of her last conversation with Robin haunted her. After Guy's declaration of their marriage, Robin sneaked into her room. There was no warmth in his eyes as he looked at her and asked whether Guy had lied about their wedding. As she confirmed that she had become Lady Gisborne, she felt the arctic chilliness emanating from her young handsome lover. Robin felt as though Marian had stabbed him in his heart with her vile, insidious betrayal.

Robin glanced at her, his gaze cold and hard. At the confirmation that Marian had indeed married Guy, his mind went blank and unbearable pain smote him. His heart was bleeding. He was devastated. "Why did you do it, Marian? Why?" He shook his head. "I don't understand."

Marian shook her head. She didn't know what to say. "I don't know."

He looked a little affronted. "Really?"

"Really."

"And what about us? Was your love for me a lie? What about your pledge of love you gave me in the forest?" he asked almost rudely.

"It never was a lie, Robin."

"I am not so sure," Robin parried. He began pacing the room, then stopped near her and raised her chin, looking right into her eyes. "Do you understand what you did? Did you think about the consequences?" He was very angry. He craved to shout and make a scandal, but he had to be quiet because he was at the castle and risked being discovered. "You ruined our chances to be together!" He laughed humorlessly. "Or do you love Gisborne, this traitor who planned to kill our King? He once told me that you were stirred by him. Was he right?"

"Even if I am stirred by him, it is not your deal," Marian snapped coldly, irritated that he guessed at least half of the truth. She felt anger at Robin simmer in her blood. She hated his tart mockery at such important moments. She glanced at him, the blue flame flaring up in her eyes. "And what chances do we have, Robin? We have only bleak future. You are an outlaw. If I am discovered as the Nightwatchman, I might be hanged." She paused and sighed. "I am so tired of everything. I am so tired of uncertainty and anticipation."

A scowl crossed over his face. "We planned to be together. We had a plan. We could have been together when King Richard returns and justice is restored. If my titles and lands had been restored, we would have been able to marry."

"I have no doubt that King Richard will restore your noble status and wealth." She sneered. "As you told me, you are the King's friend and favorite."He frowned. "Please, not now… Leave the King out of this."

"I cannot, Robin."

"Why?" His shimmering blue eyes begged her to speak.

"You and King Richard are always together in your world, even though the King is so far from us. The King has always influenced our relations," Marian pointed out. "The King had once taken you from me, and you chose to serve him and have glory over marriage to me. After your return from the Holy Land, our future depended on the King's safe return." She couldn't hold his chilly gaze and glanced away. "But, the truth is that we don't know when the King returns. I begin to doubt that he will ever come back to England either from the Holy Land or from France. I know how much the King loves France and Aquitaine, and he may go back there at first and only then to England." With a graceful movement, she slightly inclined her head. "I have been dreaming of the King's return for so long, but so many years have passed and he is still away."

"King Richard will return to England and everything will be alright, then."

She laughed. "Consider all options, Robin. What if the King never returns? What if he is killed by the Saracens or Prince John's assassins? What if the Sheriff and Prince John continue holding power?" She laughed again. "On top of that, we both can be dead by the time the King returns."

Robin was furious. His lips thinned, his eyes darkened. "Enough, Lady Gisborne! Enough! The King will come back to England alive, even if I have to go to hell to bring him here!" His voice was edged with anger. "Imagining the King's death is high treason," he added.

"Again the King…" There were small tears in her eyes, but she refused to give in to them. She had to remain calm and composed. "Everything is centered around the mighty King of England."

He paled. His face lost its blankness – he looked hurt and angry. "Watch your tongue and tone when you refer to the King," he retorted, his voice strangely low in spite of his rampage..

"The King! Always the same!" She clapped her hands. "Robin, you have no right to treat me like a child. Don't command me what to do. I have always hated you bossing."

Robin flinched. "Marian, you must be courteous and polite when you speak about King Richard, our lord and sovereign," he reproached in an accusing tone. He narrowed his eyes at her. He was astounded with her words. He had always thought that Marian had supported the anointed and crowned King of England, but now he didn't comprehend her position. "To whom are you loyal to – King Richard or Prince John?"

"To King Richard, even despite his many flaws," she responded truthfully.

"I doubt your loyalty. And never talk about King Richard's flaws. He is the lord of the realm, and you have no right to judge him or question his authority and decisions," he said coolly. "It seems that I don't know you."

Marian wasn't stunned. It was so typical for Robin. He always defended the King. "The King and you. And where are we – you and I? Where were we?"

"Go on," he emboldened.

"You have always put the King above me," she said sincerely.

He shook his head in denial. "No, I haven't. You are mistaken."

"Yes, Robin, you have always been doing that. You once abandoned me for the King, and you can do this again."

"I would have never left you again if we had been together, but you betrayed me!" he fumed.

"And now?"

"What will happen now, Marian, is my business. If the King needs me, I will go wherever he orders." His voice took a lower octave. "You don't need me now because you have a perfect husband." The last words were spoken with unimaginable contempt and hatred.

Robin sighed. Why didn't she understand his loyalty to the King whom he held so dearly in his heart? "I cannot guarantee that the King will return tomorrow or next week," he said softly, restraining his temper. "But I swear that I will do everything I can and I will sacrifice everything I have for the King and for England." He swallowed painfully. "I would have given everything for England where we could have been married and be together, but you ruined this chance."

Marian glanced away from him. "The King and country have your ultimate loyalty."

"Of course," he snapped. "I am not a traitor, like Gisborne."

"Robin, don't insult Guy!" she yelled at him. "He has qualities. He can be a good man."

"Very good man," Robin hissed with a touch of poisonous sarcasm. "Gisborne is a murderer and a traitor. He will pay for his crimes once the King returns."

"Very good man," Robin hissed with a touch of poisonous sarcasm. "Gisborne is a murderer and a traitor. He will pay for his crimes once the King returns."

"Justice must be served. Traitors must pay for treason," he said coldly.

"Robin…" Marian whispered. "Don't be so cruel."

"I am just fair."

"Guy may redeem his sins. There is goodness in him."

"No! You are wrong, my lady."

"I am not!" she fired back.

Robin cast a scrupulous glance at her. "I feared that you are attracted to him, but you told me that you loved me." He reached her and raised her chin, their eyes met. "You used Gisborne's affection to spy on him for our case. You manipulated Gisborne." Blue flame of betrayal flared up in his eyes. "But I never thought that you lied to me when you said that that you felt nothing for him." His voice turned to a whisper. "You manipulated both Gisborne and me. You lied to both of us." Then he took his hand away from her face and stepped away.

She bit her lips. He got the point. It was useless to deny it. "I don't want to talk about it."

Robin laughed. "As you wish, Lady Gisborne." Suddenly, he laughed bitterly. "Well, I wonder what your husband will say when he learns that you are not a maid anymore."

"How dare you! How dare you!" Marian screamed.

He approached her and put a finger to her lips. "Shhh! Lower your voice," he warned her. "I don't want your dear husband and the guards to come here."

"It is your entire fault that we did it," she murmured.

He smiled with a venomously sweet, smug smile. "On the contrary, my love, it is more your fault than mine. I asked you whether I should have stopped, but your ardor enkindled me to proceed further. And you were a very willing participant."

"This is an improper conversation, Locksley!"

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Oh, Lady Gisborne, are you so much ashamed?"

Her face flushed. "I didn't think about the consequences," she whispered.

"You also didn't think when you agreed to marry Gisborne and trapped yourself."

Marian again felt her anger boil. She took an engagement ring from the chain she wore on her neck and placed it into Robin's hand. A waspish smile stirred his lips as he looked at the ring.

"I don't need it," she spat.

"Then I will get rid of it in the woods," Robin sneered at her. Then he stepped backwards and shot an arrow into the window, preparing to climb down the wall on a rope.

"Where are you going?"

His eyes flashed darkly. "Anywhere where I cannot see you, Marian." A short pause fell between them. "We are done. You betrayed me and my love for you."

"Robin, I…" She stumbled with words.

"You are dead for me," he said categorically. "Enjoy your marital bed and the life on the money he is stealing from the poor people of Nottingham and from my rightful inheritance."

Anger completely recoiled, supplanted by despair. She didn't want to let him go. Yet, she did as she was tired of their arguments. "Robin, I… I… Robin… Please…"

"Stop it. It looks cheap." He sneered as he climbed on a tall window-ledge and stared at her for the last time. "Lady Gisborne, you are a liar and a wench. You and your husband are cut from the same cloth. I don't want to ever see you again." He knew that he was harsh, but he couldn't behave otherwise. Then he was gone.

A sonorous voice snapped Marian out of the imaginary world of dreams and memories. She raised her head and noticed that Guy of Gisborne stood near the bed. He smiled at her, and his dark blue eyes darkened with passion. Dressed in her light blue brocade robe, with the long tight sleeves and the high collar, her long dark hair streaming down her shoulders, she looked very beautiful with her almond-shaped, dark blue eyes, her smooth alabaster skin, and her full rosy lips. She had the beauty of the deep blue sea – calm or stormy, ever beautiful and passionate. Guy felt his body going limp; he needed to take her, claiming his husbandly rights.

Marian blinked in shock as he wore only in his long, black robe. "Guy…"

"Marian," Guy called. "Marian, my dear Marian." His breathing was erratic.

Marian leapt to her feet. She felt her knees trembling at the realization why Guy came to her bedchamber – to spend a wedding night with her. "Guy, I didn't hear how you entered the room."

Guy took her hand in his and kissed her palm. "Marian, I love you," he whispered.

He leaned forward and kissed her in her lips. His arm encircled her waist as he pressed her to his chest. She froze in his embrace, parting her lips. She didn't kiss him back, but it didn't matter for Guy. His kiss was desperate and possessive. He was delighted that she had finally become his wife. He had taken everything from his sworn enemy – Robin Hood; he married a woman whom he loved; his future looked beautiful and bright.

Unexpectedly for Guy, Marian started struggling with him, trying to escape his embrace. "Guy, I don't want it." Her heart pounded harder and harder. Her knees trembled. She stepped backwards and brushed her slender hand across her bosom.

Guy furrowed. He studied her face with an intensive gaze. "What are you saying? What is it?"

She tossed her head. "I just don't want it. I cannot… I cannot…"

A thousand of emotions coursed through her veins – repulsion, fear, trepidation, and anger at herself. How could she be intimate with Guy if she loved Robin? Even if she resigned to her fate and took her lot in life, how could she explain to Guy that she wasn't a virtuous, proper lady? She feared Guy's reaction to the revelation. He would be surely outraged and would demand to give him the name of her lover. What will she say to him? How will she justify herself? Or should she pretend that she was still a virgin? She thought that she was in a dead end.

His frown deepened. "Marian, are you afraid of a wedding night?" Then he laughed, thinking that she was just shy as she had never been with a man before. "I promise to be careful."

"I don't want to ever share a bed with you," Marian murmured, looking into his eyes. "At least not now. I am still in mourning for my father. I cannot… I just cannot…. No…"

Guy stepped to her and took her hand in his. "You are my wife. You shouldn't be scared to share a bed with me. It is a normal thing for us."

She hankered to scream that she didn't love him and that she didn't want to feel his touch on her skin. She wanted Robin, or was she mistaken? Yet, Guy was so tender and so gentle towards her. He believed that she didn't know what to expect on the wedding night. Had Guy known the truth, he would have behaved differently. He would have probably beaten her to death.

"Guy, please not today," she begged, not knowing what else to do. She wished to kick him out of her bedroom and be alone with her pain.

He managed a smile. He wasn't pleased with her denial, but he knew that he couldn't press her if he wanted to win her heart. "Alright. I will give you more time. Now go to bed. You should rest."

§§§

Guy of Gisborne treated Marian very well, but she did everything to avoid him. However, he never reproached her and only watched her. Guy bestowed upon her numerous gifts, mainly new expensive gowns and jewelry. He was polite, caring, charming, and patient – all his cruelty was gone when he was with her. There were minutes when she thought that she did a right thing when she let him marry her. She also wondered how long Guy would be such a good husband. However, she knew that it was a matter of time before something happened. They were at the stage when Guy wooed her and attempted to charm her. She shuddered at the thought that he could have discovered her secrets, making her pay for her deception. They still didn't share a marital bed. Guy wasn't too insistent and waited for her willingness to take her to bed. She only hoped that she would be able to fool him a little longer, postponing the explosion.

Living with Guy under the same roof at the Locksley Manor or at times staying at the castle, Marian clearly saw that Guy wasn't a monster with a wicked heart as Robin and others thought. She swore to do everything possible to remove Guy from Vasey's pernicious influence over time. Vasey fostered only the bad in Guy's character, squelch the goodness that coexisted in her husband's heart together with hunger for power and wealth. She didn't know whether she would be successful in helping Guy to be saved from the evil part of himself, but it was her mission as his wife to take an action before it was too late.

The Nightswatchman wasn't active these days because Marian waited as she tried to adapt to her new role of Lady Gisborne and the Lady of the Locksley Manor. Instead, she planned to aid the poor legally and openly. She asked Guy's permission to organize the feast for the villagers and to feed them, and Gisborne agreed. She was delighted that Guy didn't object her plans, stating that she should still be cautious not to display to the Sheriff learn that she was extremely inclined to champion the peasants' interests. Guy said that she must have helped the poor within due limits.

Living at the Locksley Manor as Lady Gisborne, not as Lady Locksley, proved to be difficult. For Marian, it still was Robin's house, not Guy's. There were many Robin's things inside the house, and it brought numbness in her limbs and a tart taste of guilt in her mouth. She felt numb when she heard whisperings of the villages from Locksley as they discussed her marriage to Guy. She didn't like what she heard: some villages openly disapproved of her sudden union with Gisborne as they had still viewed her as Robin of Locksley's wife. Marian was irritated that these villagers ignored Robin's weaknesses and viewed him only as their hero and savior; they didn't know how many obstacles lied between Robin and her and how difficult her relations with their ex-lord became. They had no right to judge her; they didn't know Robin as well as she did.

Even after her wedding, Marian still believed that Robin would try to use her as a spy to unmask the Sheriff's plots and plans. She felt that she would betray Guy if she assisted Robin, but she couldn't act otherwise. She was sure that Robin would need her soon and they would meet. However, her ex-fiancé didn't appear and was seen nowhere. She only stumbled into Much and Little John at Locksley as they did their deliveries; they gave her hard gazes of ambiguous meaning and even didn't nod to acknowledge her presence. She didn't see Will and Djaq anywhere within the walls of the town or in Locksley. Allan-a-Dale also observed Marian, looking at her with undeniable astonishment.

Time was passing, and Marian yearned to hear from Robin. However, she was wrong – Robin never came. He simply disappeared. She was astounded that he no longer needed any kind of information from her. She also missed him a great deal.

One day Guy and Marian were spending night at the castle. In the evening, Marian stumbled into Allan in the remote corridor and decided to use it as an opportunity to talk. She hoped that Allan would clarify where Robin was and why he didn't need any information from her. While it was true that Allan had been Gisborne's right-hand man in the past months, Marian knew that he hadn't entirely indulged himself into the treacherous ways: he didn't give away the location of the outlaws' secret camp and Marian's alter identity as the Nightwatchman, and from time to time he helped the gang arrange their escapes from Nottingham. It was likely that Allan had heard something from the gang or about them from the Sheriff and Gisborne.

"Allan, have you heard something about Robin?" Marian whispered as she stood in front of him in the empty corridor of the castle.

Allan shook his head. "Not being funny, but Robin is invisible these days." "What do Guy and Vasey say about it?"

"Maz, ask Gisborne yourself."

"I cannot. It will be strange if I suddenly ask Guy about Robin and the outlaws," Marian said flatly. "He thinks that I despise and hate Robin Hood."

Allan raised an eyebrow. "But it is not so?" He hinted at his misunderstanding of Marian's decision to marry Gisborne after he himself had heard from her that she had loved Robin.

Marian ignored Allan's sarcastic comment. "What do Gisborne and Sheriff know about Robin?"

"They are puzzled why the villages didn't see Robin for several weeks."

She sighed heavily. "Did you see somebody from the gang?"

"I met Much and Will on the market place yesterday. I didn't talk to them and didn't want to."

She dragged an agonizing breath. "Why is that so?"

"Funny you should say that... They didn't look happy to see me," Allan stated with a sardonic cheer. Then a dark cloud crossed over his face. "I am a traitor for them."

Marian smiled. She herself aided Robin on a mission of clearing out the mess with a spy in his camp, exposing Allan as a traitor. She also saved his life from angry Robin. The more she watched the treacherous ex-outlaw, the more convinced she was that he guilty and would like to go back to the gang. She sympathized to Allan. "Allan, you are a good man. You didn't betray me and helped Robin and others many times. If you want to go back to Sherwood, you deserve a second chance."

Allan was rather skeptical about that. "Thank you, Maz."

"Allan?" She stared at him.

He cocked his head. "Yes?"

"If you learn something about Robin, please tell me," she requested.

"Fine," Allan agreed. "The Sheriff is planning a new trap for Robin and the gang." He lowered his voice. "They think that now Robin is either sick or plotting something against them. I heard how the Sheriff said that he is fed up with Robin being the peasants' hero. He is up to something."

Marian cast an alarming glance at Allan. "We must talk to Robin. I don't want him to be caught."

"I will go to the forest tomorrow and try learn what is going on."

"Thank you, Allan."

"Welcome." He ran his eyes at her petite form. She seemed to be pale in the last days. He wondered whether she was sick. "How are you feeling these days? Are you alright?"

"As usual," Marian replied. In reality, she wasn't fine. She was weak and excessively pale. She attributed that to her nervousness and emotional tumult.

"If you need an ear, you have me."

Marian shrugged. "Not sure what to say."

"Seriously, what are you going to do now when you are married to Gisborne?" Allan's voice was quiet and soft.

"Accept my lot in life."

They heard distant footsteps in the corridors and hurried away from the intruder.

"Maz, better go to your bedroom before Gisborne discovers us here," Allan urged. "Go. Now."

"Goodnight." Marian gave a nod.

He smiled. "Goodnight."

As he promised, Allan went to the forest next day. He didn't go to the camp and found Will, Djaq, and Little John near the Great North Road. Allan asked them about Robin and was given a short response that the leader of the outlaws couldn't have been disturbed. Allan realized that Robin had preferred to have strict, somber solitude in the last days, which he attributed to his heartbreak in the aftermath of Marian's marriage to Gisborne. The outlaws called Allan a traitor and chased him away. Allan failed to have essential information about Robin and learn something new about the gang's activities.

* * *

_I hope you truly enjoyed this chapter and the plot._

_The flashback about Marian and Robin's conversation after her wedding to Guy shows that Marian is tired of uncertainty and waiting. It also explains why she married Guy. I assume that it is quite likely even for such a brave and extraordinary woman like Marian. Common people and nobles don't love that the King is always absent, and Marian is not an exception. Unlike Robin, she doesn't seem the King as a flawless hero, but she is still loyal to Richard._

_The chapter was heavily edited as compared to the first version. I think now you shouldn't have any questions why Marian married Guy and what she felt for Robin and Guy. There will be a lot of love intrigue here. _

**_Reviews are always appreciated, including well grounded criticism._**

_If you find any typos and/or mistakes here, please let me know about them in a private message. There might be some typos as I am not a native speaker, although I have been using English since my early childhood. _

_Be aware that guest reviews don't appear on the website immediately due to the enabled option of three-day moderation to avoid spamming._

_Thank you for reading his chapter._

_Yours faithfully, Amaranthe Athénaïs_


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